


Triassic Planet

by gingersanps



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game), Original Work
Genre: Dinosaurs, F/M, Gen, Jurassic World AU, Other, Slightly based on Jurassic Park, Spared No Expense, Velociraptors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26730379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingersanps/pseuds/gingersanps
Summary: An island full of dinosaurs. People who run that island have no idea what they're about to get into. Just because we can -- doesn't mean we should. Eclipse Guardian is about to find out that not everything is running as smoothly as it seems. A new dinosaur? One not in the fossil record. Well, they certainly spared no expense.
Relationships: The Prince (A Hat in Time) & Original Character(s)
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Triassic Planet

Eclipse felt the world slow as she watched Sena fly through the air before crashing into the straw outhouse that was near their vehicles. Her father wasn’t fast enough to cover her mouth as she let out a terrified scream. The tyrannosaurus turned her head as she heard the little girl’s scream before letting out a roar. Fenrir moved to pull his daughter in the jeep. The door slammed closed as the dinosaur nudged the vehicle with her nose. Craft grabbed the handle above the passenger window while Fenrir wrapped his arms around his daughter. The tyrannosaurus slammed her head into the jeep causing it to flip over. The little girl let out another scream as the jeep landed on its roof. She clung to her father, shaking, as she tried to stop her crying. The creature tilted it’s head as an eye appeared in the cracked window glass. Small teeth sunk into skin, blood drawn, as Fenrir slapped his hand over his daughter’s mouth. He stared at the eye as the third eyelid appeared.

“Try not to move, Craft,” he whispered to the archaeology student. “It can’t see us.”  
  
“Yeah,” they muttered as he tried to stay still. His breathing had become regulated, hardly seen, as he watched the dinosaur. “What is it doing?”  
  
“Trying to find us,” whispered Fenrir. “It knows we’re here. It can smell us, but it cannot see us.”  
  
“Oh goodie,” muttered the student.  
  
The t-rex roared before slamming into the jeep causing it to slide farther away from the dinosaur. Fenrir gripped his daughter tighter as she moved to slammed against it again. She knew they were in the vehicle. She was going to get them to stop hiding. Her head came down, fast, as she slammed her jaws around one of the tires before pulling it off the Jeep. Wheel and bearing came with it as she swung her head as if she had a chew toy. The dinosaur dropped it before letting out a roar as she pushed on the Jeep. The vehicle sank into the mud. It had been raining right before she escaped her enclosure. Eclipse whimpered as she slammed her head against the window as her father’s grip on her slipped. She groaned as she was knocked senseless before she gasped as the dinosaur picked up the Jeep before dropping it on the ground. All three occupants bounced. They were jostled in the vehicle as she lifted it again before dropping it.  
  
“Papa!” cried Eclipse as she tried to get closer to him. “PAPA!”  
  
“Ammy,” he said as he moved to dive for his daughter. The world stopped as he felt the tyrannosaurus lift the Jeep once again from the ground. “Ammy.” He moved faster to try and grab her. He felt the vehicle leave the dinosaur’s jaw as it flung the Jeep through the air. Eclipse screamed as she saw the barrier as they passed it.  
  
“ _PAPA_!”

“ _Ammy_ !”  
  
“Ammy!”  
  
Eclipse jumped as her eyes opened. She turned to face DJ before she sighed in relief. It had been a memory. She touched the scar underneath her eye before she closed her eyes to try to block out the images that flashed in her mind. The memories were etched in her mind. They were prominent parts of her. Eclipse would never escape her memories. The young woman took a deep breath before opening her eyes as she felt a smile grace her face. Her father frowned as he saw the forced smile, but he let it go as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.  
  
“Was there something you wanted, pappy?” chirped Eclipse.  
  
“You’re late.”  
  
“Late for what?” she asked as she stared at the clock. “OH MY GOD -- I have to go!”

She ran past her father as she flung her coat on her arms. It was cold and breezy on the island that morning. She ran past the employees and guests of the park. The young woman managed to leap over a bench as she tried to get to her destination. Eclipse panted as she dodged a few more people. The young woman bit her lip as she danced around another guest with food. She snarled. There were too many people out that early in the morning in a resort and zoo combination theme park. She skidded to a stop as she got to the main corporate building. She walked into the building before heaving as she rested her hands on her knees. She hadn’t ran that fast in a long time.  
  
“Out of shape, Eclipse,” she muttered. “You were a track and field _star_ in high school.”  
  
“You’re late.”  
Her eyes snapped toward the person that spoke to her. She sighed before moving to stand straight. Eclipse yawned as she raised her arms above her head to stretch them. She stared at her brother as he rolled himself toward her. She moved to fix her hair as she watched him tap his fingers against the metal of his wheels. Eclipse sighed as she dropped her arms causing her hair to fall out of its ponytail.  
  
“I got distracted by a memory,” she mumbled.  
  
“Of dad?”  
  
“Of Triassic Adventure,” she answered truthfully. “When you were …”  
  
“Taken out by Trixie’s tail?”  
  
“... Yeah,” she said as she rubbed her neck. “That was the scariest night of my life, and it’s the anniversary of that whole event.”  
  
Sena froze as his brain recognized her words. It was the anniversary of the Triassic Adventure disaster. He stared at her before moving to grab his tablet. His hands shook as he saw the date and time on the small machine. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the tablet a bit harder than he had been intending. He had nightmares about his time in that place. The pain -- the years of therapy -- he glanced at his wheelchair. He would never be able to walk again. Eclipse took the tablet from his hands before she smiled sadly at him. He made a noise as he realized she knew what he was thinking about at the moment. She turned it off before returning it to the holder that hung around Sena’s wheelchair.  
  
“Listen,” she said as she placed her hands on the arms of his chair, leaning over him, “father wouldn’t want his research to be used like _this_ .” She moved a hand to gesture toward the facility they were having their conversation. “He did all his research for the science of it all. Dad wanted to see dinosaurs come to life, but he didn’t want to use them as attractions.”  
  
“ _Assets_ ,” hissed Sena. “They treat them like assets.”  
  
“We’re the ones who named the main dinosaurs, remember?” she said as a fanged grin appeared on her face.  
  
“Okay, but, remember my dear little sister, _you_ named all the raptors.”  
  
“They’re my scaly babies!” she laughed. “Of course I named them all.”  
  
Sena smiled at her as she laughed. He rubbed his cheek as he made a noise. She changed the topic of the conversation with ease. Eclipse knew when subjects needed to be changed. She had always been perceptive about such things. Sena made a noise as he remembered what he wanted to tell the raptor trainer. He moved to grab his tablet before typing on it. He made a noise before turning it to show his sister. Eclipse narrowed her eyes as she stared at the ‘Access Denied - Restricted Information’ label on it.  
  
“Restricted information?” she asked.  
  
“The new project they’re working on,” he huffed. “It’s only for their top, top scientists. I’m, apparently, not one of them.”  
  
“They don’t trust you,” hummed Eclipse as she put a finger against the bottom of her lower lip. “That makes sense. You are Fenrir’s son.”  
  
“And you’re Fenrir’s daughter.”  
  
“Touche,” she said. “But, I’m the only one crazy enough to train the raptors. And, nobody knows I’m Fenrir’s daughter. I think I won this one.”  
  
“Fair point,” Sena said with a chuckle. “Okay, okay, so Vanessa doesn’t trust me as much as I thought she did.”  
  
“Shame.”  
  
“Craft!” Eclipse exclaimed as she perked up.  
  
“You missed the meeting, Moony,” laughed Craft as they moved to nuzzle Sena. “It was about the new asset they are going to be bringing to the park.”  
  
“Oh goodie,” replied Eclipse.  
  
“Don’t steal my line, Moony.”  
  
“You’re cute when you pout.”  
  
“You two have the friendliest, mutual, platonic flirting I have _ever_ seen,” said Sena.  
  
“That just means we like each other,” Craft and Eclipse said at the same time before both of them started to laugh.

Eclipse smiled at her family, blue eyes sparkling, before she made a noise as she spotted Arulius Law walking past them. His nose was glued to the tablet in front of him. He wasn’t paying attention to where he was walking. She snorted. He must have known the place like the back of his hand. He never ran into anything when he wasn’t looking. Sena blinked before he turned his chair to see Arulius disappear around the corner. He glanced at Eclipse.  
  
“He knows you missed the meeting.”  
  
“Ah, fuck me,” groaned Eclipse. “I’ll hear about it later -- I’m sure.”

\------------------------------

“I can’t believe that you’re _finally_ letting us come to Triassic Planet!” shouted Marcus as he pushed Morgan out of the screen. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.”  
  
“Why did you take so long for us to come anyway, huh, Ru?” asked Morgan as he moved to shove Marcus out of the way. “Stop hogging the whole screen, dinosaur nerd!”  
  
“I am not a dinosaur nerd!” shouted Marcus as he went to try and push Morgan out of the screen once again.  
  
“Listen, you two,” the director said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Mom didn’t want you to come to the island until she was sure you were old enough to not do stupid shit.”  
  
Marcus paused. “Are we sure we should bring Morgan? Do you remember the last time we went with mom and dad?”  
  
“Yes,” Arulius said as his eye twitched. “ _Which_ is why you’re going to have a babysitter.”  
  
“ _No_ ,” gasped Morgan. “I’m sixteen, Ru! I don’t need a babysitter!”  
  
Arulius gave his brother a look of doubt. Morgan was the one who needed a babysitter the most. Marcus tended to follow rules, but he was a huge pushover. He would do what his brother wanted to do as long as he got to enjoy it. The man sighed before he took a deep breath to keep his cool. He didn’t need to get even more upset. He frowned. That raptor trainer hadn’t been at the meeting, and he was not all that happy about it. He made sure the park ran smooth -- without hiccups. She caused a hiccup with not being at the meeting. It meant he’d have to take time out of his day to find her to go over the notes.  
  
“Ru?” Marcus asked, breaking the man from his thoughts. “Are you okay?”  
  
“I’m fine,” he said. “I was thinking about all the things I had to do today. I’ll have to hang up soon.”  
  
The twins frowned. They wanted to spend some time with their brother. Ever since he got this job, he had been busy all the time. Ru lived on the island instead with them anymore as well. Arulius sighed as he saw their looks before smiling softly at them.  
  
“I promise I’ll try to find time to spend it traversing Triassic Planet with you.”

“We’ll keep you to that promise, Ru,” Morgan sneered. “Maybe this one will actually come true.”  
  
“Morgan!” gasped Marcus. “Ru’s trying his best. He’s basically running the most popular theme park in the entire world. Cut our big brother some slack.”  
  
“You two may be twins,” said Ru. “But you are completely different. Anyway, have a safe trip over, Morgan and Marcus. I’ll see you when you get here. Don’t get too seasick Morgan.”  
  
“Very funny, big brother,” huffed Morgan before he cut off their connection.

Arulius sighed as he stared at the end call icon before he backtracked to his notes. He needed to find Eclipse Guardian. She had to show him the raptor paddock. He made sure the safety features of Triassic Planet were in top shape at all times. He moved to start walking in the direction of his office before he paused. His eyes darted from the tablet as he sighed. Gold eyes stared into blue eyes as he placed the tablet at his side.

“Miss Guardian.”  
  
“Eclipse,” she corrected him. “Seriously, I am not a formal person. You don’t have to call me Ms. Guardian.”  
  
“I will call you what I want when you don’t bother showing up to an important meeting for the future of Triassic Planet.”  
  
Eclipse made a noise as she realized he was upset at the fact she had missed the meeting. The woman smiled sheepishly at him as she moved to run a hand through her greying hair. Arulius gave her a look of contempt before he moved to run his finger along the tablet before showing her the item he had picked on it. Eclipse’s eyes glanced over the notes before she gasped. She stared at him before staring at the tablet.  
  
“You’re making a _new_ dinosaur?”  
  
“The public knows what it wants,” he hummed. “Vanessa wanted a creature with more teeth. She wanted it bigger, badder and scarier than even the t-rex.”  
  
“ _Nothing_ will be scarier than Trixie,” hissed Eclipse.  
  
“Trix -- oh, right, you nicknamed the old girl Trixie,” hummed Arulius. “Well, _Trixie_ has been our most popular attraction, but even her numbers are declining.”  
  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” snapped the raptor trainer. “Do not talk about the dinosaurs like they’re throw-away-able things.”  
  
Arulius stared at her before he sighed. He used his free hand to rub the bridge of his nose. “Listen, Ms.,” he paused as he saw the look she was giving him, “Eclipse, this newest asset will be good for the park. Good for the revenue. I’ve tried to give these animals the best lives I could give them.”  
  
“You haven’t tried hard enough.”  
Eclipse had to bite her tongue from going off on him. They were using her father’s research for pure money. It wasn’t something he had wanted for the dinosaurs. Yes, he helped build and design Triassic Adventure. Fenrir had a hand in creating the original park. He had been allowed to make sure the paddocks were crafted to the dinosaurs themselves. She wasn’t allowed to tell Arulius any of that information.  
  
“I’ll speak to Celeste and Vanessa about trying to update the paddocks for the dinosaurs, especially the carnivores.”  
  
Eclipse snorted as she heard his words. Empty promises. The young woman looked at him before making a noise as she looked away. She still had missed the meeting.  
  
“I’m sorry for missing the meeting. I got lost in my -- thoughts,” she said as she muttered the word thoughts.  
  
“It’s fine,” the director replied as he went back to his tablet. “I need to examine the raptors’ paddock today.”  
  
Eclipse perked as she heard his words. “It’s been a month already?”  
  
“I want to see how the raptors are behaving, and I want to make sure their paddock is secure. I do not need the raptors running amuck … again.”  
  
“Listen, they were this fucking big,” she said as she showed how big they were at that time. “They were _babies_ . And, I found them just fine.”  
  
“After they ate almost a whole cart of hotdogs.”  
  
“They were good hotdogs,” commented Eclipse. “I had one with them.”  
  
“And you hadn’t paid for it.”  
  
“Is that all you have to worry about?” she huffed. “They haven’t gotten out of the paddock since they were pups.”  
  
“That’s because I made sure their paddock was upgraded.”  
  
“I’d like to think it’s because they have a lot more respect for me,” chirped Eclipse. “Well, when are you coming over? I have to prim and prime the girls. They _always_ want to look nice for you.”  
  
“I bet I look like a snack to them.”  
  
“Nah,” laughed Eclipse. “They could use you as a toothpick.”

“Listen, I’m not as toothpick-y as all you people believe,” groaned Arulius.  
  
“Prove me wrong,” purred Eclipse.  
  
“Moony,” chimed in Craft as he reappeared. “Stop flirting with the director. Sena and I need you for something important.”  
  
“I’m not!” exclaimed Eclipse as her face flushed.  
  
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” chuckled Craft.  
  
Arulius watched Craft pull Eclipse away from him as he tilted his head a bit. He shook it afterward before swiping on his tablet. He glanced up for a moment.  
  
“I’ll be at the paddock around 5 PM tonight,” he called at Eclipse.  
  
“It’s a date!” replied the trainer as she waved her arm widely at him.  
  
“ECLIPSE!” laughed Craft as he pulled her around a corner.  
  
“Cute,” muttered the director as he moved to head toward his next meeting. “Ugh, I’m running late.” He frowned. “I can’t believe that dumb raptor trainer distracted me.”

His heels clacked against the floor as he brisk walked toward the meeting room. A meeting with potential backers wasn’t something the director of Triassic Planet should be running late. He bit his lip as he groaned. He was going to have to explain the reason he was late by ten minutes. The man took a deep breath before smiling.  
  
“It’s fine,” he said. “I’ll just tell them I had to catch up with the raptor trainer as she had missed the meeting about their asset.”

He opened the doors to the room before shutting them behind him with a soft click. The backers turned to stare at Arulius before he bowed in apology to them.  
  
“I apologize for being late. I had to take care of a small hiccup that had appeared this morning.” He gave them a charming smile before straightening himself. “Anyway, we can begin the meeting now.”  
  
A projector screen reeled from the ceiling as the lights dimmed. Arulius took out a clicker before he pushed the button. Moving diagrams appeared on the screen. He allowed the backers to look over all the graphs and numbers before he began his speech.  
  
“As you can see, the numbers for Triassic Planet are up. They always go up. But,” he changed the slide. “The rising numbers are starting to slow.” He changed the slide once again. “I believe we’ve come up with a way to raise these numbers faster every year.”

The slide changed to a creature nobody had ever seen. The investors began to whisper amongst themselves. The creature on the slide was a new dinosaur. It wasn’t one that anybody had discovered. Arulius smirked as he realized he had gained their attention. The lights came back on as the screen reeled back into the ceiling. The director’s heels clicked against the floor as he paced back and forth in front of the investors.  
  
“We’ve come a long way since the first dinosaurs of Triassic Adventure,” he began to speak after he let them digest the photo they had seen on the screen. “We can use gene splicing to its fullest potential.”  
  
“You’ve created a whole new dinosaur?” an investor asked.  
  
“We’ve created a whole new dinosaur!” Arulius said as he grinned at them. “She’s bigger, scarier and tougher than any of the ones we have now.”  
  
“How big will she grow?” another investor asked.  
  
“Our dear girl will be taller than the t-rex when she’s full grown.”  
  
The director let them talk amongst themselves as he leaned against the desk in front of the room. He looked at the roof before humming. He frowned a bit. Eclipse was getting to him. Creating a new dinosaur wasn’t something that was terrible. They needed something to wow the crowd. Dinosaurs were becoming part of the norm. They were starting to become the old thing. He glanced out the window to see the park crowded with people below him. He smiled a bit as he watched them move about their day. Soon, they’ll have a new attraction to see as he turns toward the investors.  
  
“We have come to an agreement,” the one investory said. “We agree to back the introduction of the Metrialong.”


	2. Chapter 2: Safety Precautions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eclipse introduces the raptors in a fun but nail biting way! Also, Ru doesn't know how to deal with the raptor trainer.

“Cassie, hey, do _not_ snap your jaw at me! Luna, I can see you. Calypso, your name definitely does not match you.”  
  
Eclipse turned toward the gold striped raptor that approached her as she growled. The raptor lowered herself into a stance as her claws tapped the ground. The woman stared at Angrboda before flickering her eyes toward the young man that had fallen into their territory. She placed a hand in front of the raptor to keep her from attacking. Amgy trilled and chattered as she moved toward the man. Eclipse gave the raptor a look before shoving her head to the side. It was at that moment the other raptors moved to attack. Eclipse grabbed the young man’s hand before pulling him with her.  
  
“Time to go!” she chirped before throwing him under the closing inner gate before she slid underneath it. The woman winced as she heard the clanging of the raptors hitting the cage. Eclipse caught her breath before standing, dusting off her shorts, as she gave the girls a look. 

“I’m disappointed in all of you. Attacking _me_ ?! I thought we had a bit more respect than that. Shame on you girls.”  
  
The raptors hissed and trilled before moving to run off into the foliage. Eclipse sighed as she held out a hand to the man.  
  
“Sorry for being a bit rough with tossing you under the gate,” she told him. “But, please try not to fall over the railing again.”  
  
“It’s n-not l-like I m-meant,” the man stammered as he allowed her to pull him off the ground.  
  
“And, don’t turn your back to the cage.”  
  
The man jumped as Luna slammed against the cage, hissing, as she tried to get at him. He ran past Eclipse at top speed to get out of the paddock. The woman laughed. They couldn’t move like that until they had a raptor chasing them. She frowned at her own thought before shaking her head. She closed the outer gate of the paddock. The woman stared at the man who appeared in front of her. Her expression fell into a snarl as her fangs peeked from her mouth.  
  
“Connor,” she growled. “The answer is no.”  
  
“You didn’t even let me talk, Eclipse,” the man bellowed as he outstretched his arms.  
  
“The. answer. is. no,” she snarled.

“You haven’t given it a thought, have you?”  
  
Eclipse shoved Connor out of the way before giving him the middle finger. The man trespassed in her personal space for far too long. She turned to stare at him before moving her hand in the direction of the road.  
  
“Get out!” she hissed.  
  
“Imagine the possibilities,” Connor argued. “The opportunities to use them for the US military.”  
  
“ _No_ ,” screeched Eclipse.

“Connor Swayze, what are you doing here?”  
  
Eclipse snapped her head toward Arulius as he walked over to the two of them. He had perfect timing. Connor turned toward the director before he waved at Arulius in greeting. The young man tapped his stylus to his tablet as he waited for Connor to answer his question.  
  
“Well?”

“Oh, right,” laughed Connor. “I’ve come to study how the raptors are doing. My research is based on animal behavior after all.”  
  
The director narrowed his eyes before he pointed toward the road. “Out, Mr. Swayze, I have to inspect the paddock as well as make sure the raptors are behaving.”

Connor scoffed as he moved toward his vehicle as he went to leave as instructed by Arulius Law, the director of Triassic Planet (and his boss). Eclipse sighed as she rubbed her arm. The woman visibly relaxed when she saw Connor leaving in his Jeep. The woman turned to pay attention to Arulius as he cleared his throat.  
  
“That man is a menace. I’m not even sure why Vanessa hired him,” muttered the man. “Anyway, Ms. Guardian …”  
  
“Eclipse,” she corrected him.  
  
“Right, Eclip …” he trailed off as he finally looked at her.  
  
Arulius’ fought to keep the rising pink in his cheeks from showing. He stared a little too low for a few seconds before he pulled his attention back to his tablet. He coughed to center his own mind once again before speaking.  
  
“A-Anyway, like I w-was saying,” he tried again cursing his own stuttering.  
  
Eclipse watched him, amused, before she looked down. She stared at the popped button before she sighed. Another bites the dust.  
  
“Shame,” she hummed. “I lost another button. I guess I’ll have to buy a new shirt. I liked this one too.”  
  
The director made a noise as he heard her. He gulped before opening the app he had trouble finding. He scrolled through the reports before frowning. The incident from a few moments ago had found its way to his report log. Eclipse watched him as she saw his frown. She gulped as she realized that the incident with the girls was reported.  
  
“Listen,” she began. “I can explain.”  
  
“No need,” Arulius replied as his eyes finally met her own. “The man fell over the railing. It couldn’t be helped.”  
  
“But?” Eclipse replied with a slow roll at the beginning.  
  
“But,” he continued. “That’s the third incident in a two month time span. We might have to move the raptors to a more enclosed pad …”  
  
“No!” snapped Eclipse.  
  
“No?”  
  
“The girls know this paddock. They grew up in this paddock,” Eclipse gasped. “You can’t move them to an enclosed paddock. They’ll go nuts.”

Arulius stared at Eclipse as she gave him a pleading look. He bit his lip before sighing. He was going to give into this woman. He tapped the stylus to his tablet. His eyes lit up as he thought of something she could show him to prove he shouldn’t move the raptors.  
  
“Fine,” he said. “Show me that it’s safe. Tell me how we can improve from these incidents.”

“Okay,” she said, giving a breath of relief. “I will. Follow me, please.”  
  
She walked toward the paddock before climbing the stairs to get to the catwalks on the top of it. She looked over the railing before spying Calypso hunting a mouse. She snorted a bit before clicking her training tool. The spotted raptor looked up at her.  
  
“Calypso,” she disciplined. “No food between meals.”  
  
The raptor stared at her before looking at the mouse that had run off into the tall grass. Calypso chirped and barked in frustration before running off to look for her sisters. Eclipse sighed as she put the clicker in her pocket. Arulius clicked on his tablet as he typed something with his fingers. She glanced at him before grimacing. He didn’t say anything about her partial control of the raptors. The woman looked to see if she could spot any of them cheating on their meal before she sighed. The girls were incredible at hiding. Eclipse turned toward Arulius before giving him a smile.  
  
“They are to stay on a strict meal plan, but it sometimes doesn’t happen when the stray rodent appears.”  
  
“Which means there’s a crack somewhere …”  
  
“No!” the woman snapped. “Rodents are incredible climbers, especially the mice. I have traps set up for them everywhere.”

She placed her pinkies in her mouth before whistling. A shrill whistle pierced the director’s ears before he stared over the railing. The chirping of a raptor got his attention. He stared at the gold striped velociraptor that had appeared. Her head had been tilted upward as she stretched her long legs to get a better look at Eclipse and him.  
  
“What is she doing?” he asked the raptor trainer.  
  
“Trying to decide if you’re a snack,” Eclipse replied without missing a bit.

Arulius made a noise as he backed away from the railing at Eclipse’s words. Eclipse barked out a laugh as she watched him back away from the railing. Her head tilted to the side in amusement. Arulius Law was such an interesting, amusing man. Eclipse’s hand found the clicker as she made it click. Amsy looked at Eclipse before giving a shrill bark before running into the foliage to find her sisters. Blue eyes softened as she watched the raptor disappear. Arulius watched her before he built up the nerve to lean his arms over the railing.  
  
“You really adore these raptors, don’t you?”  
  
“I mean,” Eclipse said as she mimicked his posture on the railing. “I was there since they hatched. Of course I adore my girls.”  
  
“I can see why you’re so defensive over them,” continued Arulius. “I want to make sure the park is safe.”  
  
Eclipse sighed as she watched one of the raptors poke their head out of the grass. It disappeared as fast it had appeared. The woman turned her attention toward the director.  
  
“I understand your concerns, Arulius,” she explained. “But, let me deal with the girls. They aren’t going to get out of their paddock unless I let them out. They’re part of my family. I don’t want them taken away from me.”  
  
Arulius sighed as he nodded at her words. He couldn’t force her to move the raptors into _true_ cages. He couldn’t bear to see what would happen if he forced something like that onto the raptor trainer. He watched the raptors appear and disappear in the foliage before he looked at the colorful turning sky. Sunset was approaching them. The day got away from him incredibly fast. The young man moved to stare at his watch before he choked on his spit.  
  
“Oh shit.”  
  
“Wait, what?” the woman asked as she turned toward him.  
  
Eclipse gave him a look of surprise. She hadn’t realized that the director of Triassic Planet could swear. She didn’t think it was in his vocabulary.  
  
“Oh crap,” he hissed as he moved to try and get off the catwalk. “I’m extremely late!”  
  
“Wait, Arulius be …” Eclipse winced as the man tumbled down the stairs.  
  
He was a crumpled mess at the bottom of the stairs. The man groaned as he moved to rub his face. His nose was sore. He stared at his hand as he saw the blood on it. His gold eyes, corners filled with tears, glared at Eclipse as she tried to hold her giggles in with her hand. She couldn’t help giggling. Despite his bloodied nose, his appearance was hilarious. His hair was disarrayed. His clothing was disheveled. At that moment, Eclipse realized the man, the director of this theme park, was not as prim and proper as he led others to believe. She went to help him off the ground when she jumped at the clanging of metal. The high pitched yelp of the man caught her attention as he jumped away from the paddock.  
  
“What the fuck?!”  
  
“Oh, they smelled blood.”  
  
All four raptors appeared at the metal bars. Cassiopia had been trying to grab Arulius with her claws. The raptors’ tones rolled as Amsy barked out in frustration. Cassiopia trilled as she realized she wasn’t going to get the bleeding prey. Calypso hissed before going to bite at Luna who had tried to shove her out of the way so the black raptor could get closer to Arulius. The girls pressed closer to the bars as they tried to get closer to the bleeding man. Eclipse handed him a cloth to press against his nose. She glanced at the raptors before giving them a look of disappointment.  
  
“You four know better,” she told them.  
  
The raptors stared at Eclipse before staring at Arulius. He tried to hide behind the shorter person. The raptors weren’t exactly his favorite dinosaurs. He shivered a bit before running a hand through his hair. He made a noise as Asmy barked and yowled at him. He ran toward his vehicle as fast as he could carrying a cloth on his bleeding nose. Eclipse made a noise as she tried to catch him before he slammed the door to his Jeep. She sighed as she watched him turn on the vehicle before driving off down the road. She moved to lean against the bars as the raptors had gone back to their foliage. She lifted her head as she heard the clanging of claws on metal.  
  
“Oh, hello, Miss Amsy. Come to say hi?”

The raptor trainer smiled as she moved a hand to run it over the raptor’s smooth scales. The gold striped raptor had no issues with purring as the woman gave her attention. Eclipse smiled as she moved to run both hands along the raptor’s snout as Amsy moved to shove her snout through the bars. She moved to place her forehead above the raptor’s nose.

“You’re such a good girl.”

The woman moved to nuzzle Amsy once again before she made a noise as she spotted a familiar looking tablet on the ground. She picked it off the ground causing the raptor to snort. It smelled like that male that was trying to get her attention. Eclipse looked it over before she sighed.  
  
“It doesn’t look broken, Amsy. I should give it to him. I think he was heading toward the docks. I’ll be back later, girl.”  
  
Amsy snorted as she trilled before dashing off into the brush.

\-------------------------------

Morgan stared at Arulius as he watched the man play with the cotton stuffed up his nostrils. The teenager gave him a look of disbelief before shaking his head.  
  
“What’d you do, Ru?”

“Shut up, brat,” muttered Arulius as he moved to fix his hair. “I hurt my nose.”  
  
“Clearly,” sneered Morgan. He was not happy that his brother had called him a brat. “How did you manage to hurt your nose? Fall down a flight of stairs?”  
  
Arulius was quiet for a moment before he shook his head. He didn’t have to answer Morgan. The teen let out a barking laugh as he realized the silence meant his older brother did, in fact, fall down a flight of stairs. Morgan bent over laughing as he tried to fix his composure. He had to imagine his uptight brother falling on the stairs.  
  
“Morgan,” Marcus hissed as he elbowed his twin. “Please don’t get us sent home right after we got here.”  
  
“It wouldn’t be any skin off my bones if he sent us home,” Morgan whispered to him.  
  
“Well, I want to be here,” growled Marcus as he pushed his brother forward. “I am not ruining my chance to explore Triassic Planet and actually remember it.”  
  
“Right, the last time you two were here, it was a bit of a blur,” hummed Arulius as he started to walk off the dock waving the boys to follow. “You visited right before the park had opened to the public in 2010.”  
  
“Exactly!” chattered Marcus as he followed beside his brother. “I’m excited to be here. I want to see so many things. I have this weekend all planned out.”  
  
“Ew, plans,” Morgan muttered as he followed behind him. “Are there cute girls here, Ru?”  
  
“Cute,” the man said before he turned to stare at Morgan. “You’re on an island full of _live_ dinosaurs, and you’re worried about meeting cute girls? What goes on in that head of yours, Morgan?”

“Dinosaurs don’t interest me, _Ru_ ,” Morgan hissed. “If anything, this is a good place to meet up with some cute girls. It’s ridiculous how many girls are interested in these stupid dinosaurs.”  
  
“Dinosaurs aren’t stupid.”  
  
Ru stiffened as he recognized Eclipse’s voice. He moved his head to stare at the woman as she stood there with a hand on her hip. She was giving Morgan a look as she waited for the sixteen year old to reply to her comment. She hated when others spoke poorly of the creatures her father helped create. She hated when others spoke poorly of dinosaurs. They were some of the more fascinating creatures on the planet.  
  
“Um, yeah, they are,” Morgan responded. “Have you not heard of all the disasters that involved them? Triassic Adventure is the one that pops up in most peoples’ minds. Another good example was when they thought it was a bright idea to bring a t-rex to San Diego, California.” He put down his second finger as he counted the mishaps. “Oh, and, wasn’t there a time somebody had gotten lost on one of the islands?”  
  
Eclipse winced as she rubbed her cheek. All those mishaps were complete disasters, but she knew it wasn’t the dinosaurs’ fault. The raptor trainer sighed as she smiled at the boy causing him to blink in confusion at her. Morgan had given her reasons for his comment to be fact rather opinion, and she stood there smiling at him. He had decided she was weird. The woman simply smiled before she began to laugh at his words. Morgan jumped at her bark-like laugh before he shook his head.  
  
“Ru, where are we staying this weekend?” asked Morgan.  
  
“Oh, uh,” the director muttered as he shook his head. “You’re going to be in a penthouse for the weekend. Mom wanted to make sure the both of you were comfortable, so I got the nicest room for the two of you. Eclipse, what are you doing here?”  
  
“Right,” the woman muttered. “I came to give you this.”  
  
The director blinked at the tablet she had plopped into his hands. He stared at it before looking at her. His eyes snapped back to the tablet.  
  
“Oh.”  
  
“Yeah, you may have dropped it when you fell down the steps at the raptor paddock,” she said as she played with her hair. “I figured I’d come give …”  
  
“T-There’s a raptor paddock?” asked Marcus as he shoved himself between Arulius and Eclipse. “C-Can I see?”  
  
Eclipse stared at Marcus before she smiled at him. She had never seen a child so excited to see the raptors. Many were afraid of Amsy and the pack. She couldn’t help to smile more as she saw the sparkle in his eyes at the potential to meet the raptors. The woman glanced at Arulius to see if she had permission to show them the raptor paddock. They had gone through their safety meeting, and she knew it was safe for them to visit the girls. The director made a face as he had to think about letting Marcus and Morgan go visit the raptors. The incident of the employee falling over the railing that morning was fresh on his mind.  
  
“Pleassseee?” asked Marcus as he turned to stare at his brother. “I promise I’ll be good.”  
  
“It’s not you I’m worried …”  
  
“I’m going to hang out in the hotel room,” Morgan said as he started to walk toward the resort part of the park. “I’m going to nap. The trip here was a bit rough.”  
  
“Oh, right, you do get a bit seasick,” muttered Arulius. “Alright. I’ll show you to the hotel. Marcus, please behave while you visit the raptors. I don’t need to tell mom about how you were eaten.”  
  
Marcus stared at his brother before he stared at Eclipse. The raptors weren’t going to eat him. Eclipse stared at him before she began to laugh. The woman covered her mouth with a hand to calm herself before she smiled.  
  
“I promise the girls won’t eat you.”  
  
Arulius sighed as he waved at Eclipse as he began to walk toward the hotels with Morgan. “Thanks for bringing me my tablet. I didn’t even realize it was gone. I guess in my rush -- it was the last thing on my mind.”  
  
“No problem!” chirped Eclipse as she moved to pull Marcus along with her to the raptor paddock. “I’ll be borrowing your brother though! I promise he won’t come back in pieces!”  
  
“E-Eclipse!” shouted Arulius as he heard her. “That’s not funny!”  
  
“It’s plenty funny,” Morgan commented as Eclipse laughed in the background.  
  
“No comments from the peanut gallery,” huffed Arulius. “Come on, Morgan, let’s get you to the hotel so you can sleep off the seasickness.”  
  
“You know,” Morgan said as he followed his brother. “She’s pretty hot.”

\------------------------------------------------

Marcus had to keep himself from having a pep in his step as he followed Eclipse to the raptor paddock. Velociraptors were his favorite dinosaur, and he had always wanted to see one up close. His brother’s employee was about to make his dream come true at that moment. Eclipse laughed as she saw how excited the teen was to see the raptors. She moved closer to the cage before using her fingers to give a shrill whistle. Four raptors appeared at the edge of the paddock with trills and barks of their own.  
  
“Oh my god,” muttered Marcus as he stared at them from a distance. “Somebody pinch me. I must be dreaming.”  
  
“Come closer, and I’ll be happy to oblige,” chirped Eclipse as she moved to run her hands over Cassie’s smooth scales. “As long as I’m here, they won’t do anything to harm you. Be careful of their posture and stance though. They’re like giant cats. The raptors will let you know when they’re annoyed and about to bite.”  
  
Marcus was cautious as he approached the paddock gates. The raptors rumbled in the back of their throats as he approached. The gold striped raptor hissed as she recognized the scent of the male that was with Eclipse previously. It was a bit different, and it smelled faint. Her third eyelid flickered as she watched Marcus. Amsy shrilled and chirped as her tail swayed back and forth. Eclipse flicked the raptor’s snout. The raptor went to nip at her fingers before snarling as she moved farther from the gate.  
  
“It’s really okay to come this close?” asked Marcus. “They can still get through the bars with their jaws and claws.”  
  
“Which is why nobody is usually allowed this close,” hummed Eclipse. 

She had seen the look of nervousness on his face. The woman hummed as she pulled him closer to Cassiopeia. The dark brown and tan patterned Velociraptor watched as Marcus appeared in her vision. Sweat dripped down Marcus’ face as he watched her. Cassiopeia’s third eyelid flickers before she glanced at Eclipse. Their alpha didn’t seem bothered by the boy. She trilled before closing her eyes. Marcus stared at the raptor before he moved to place his hand on her snout. Cassie’s eyes opened as she felt his touch. Marcus moved his hand back fast as her eyes reopened. The raptor tilted her head as she chirped and trilled before pushing her snout into Marcus’ hand.  
  
“She likes you!” laughed Eclipse. “Congrats. You’re petting a raptor.”  
  
“I’m petting a raptor,” Marcus said in a bit of a daze. “I’m petting a raptor! I’ve only dreamed about being able to pet a Velociraptor.”

Eclipse laughed as she heard Marcus. The woman moved to lean against the gate as she watched Calypso approach her. The spotted raptor loved attention from the woman. She reached through the bars to stroke the raptor’s snout. Calypso purred as she pushed herself closer to the bars. The woman smiled.  
  
“How’s my pretty spotted girl, huh?”  
  
Calypso chirped as if to answer her as she continued to enjoy the attention Eclipse was giving her. The woman smiled as she moved to kiss the top of Calypso's snout. Marcus blinked as he watched Eclipse pet the raptor. It looked natural for her to pet and kiss them. It looked natural for her to give them that attention. The woman gave Calypso once last kiss before patting her snout. The raptor snorted before moving away from the gate before looking around the area. Calypso chirped before running into the nearest bushes. Eclipse straightened her clothing before turning to Marcus.  
  
“So,” she said. “Introductions. The one you were petting is named Cassiopeia. Her nickname is Cassie. She’s the calmest out of the four, so I would gain her trust first. The other you saw is Calypso. She’s a bit of an attention hog, so I give her attention when the others aren’t as interested. The black one keeps her distance, but she’s still watching -- that’s Luna. Don’t mind her. I’m not sure what happened that she doesn’t like anybody else but me.”  
  
Angrboda reappeared as she moved to watch Marcus before pushing her side against the bars near Eclipse. The woman ran her hand over the raptor’s scales as she continued, “And, this one, her name is Angrboda, but I call her Amgy. She’s the first raptor I’ve hatched, and she’s the beta of the pack. She keeps her sisters in line when I’m not around. Don’t you, Amsy?”  
  
Angrboda let out a roar like shrill before yelping and purring. The raptor knew she was in charge when Eclipse was away. Eclipse giggled as she moved to kiss Angrboda’s neck as she couldn’t reach her head the way the raptor was pressed against the gate. She smiled at Marcus. Marcus was staring at the raptors as they went about their lives after getting the attention they desired. He glanced at Eclipse in seer shock and excitement.  
  
“You … you really raised them from eggs?” he asked her.  
  
Eclipse smiled softly as she pat Amgy to let her know she could head over to the others. It was almost feeding time.  
  
“I did!” the woman answered with a proud smile etched on her face. “It’s almost feeding. Do you want to watch?”

“More than anything.”

Eclipse smiled as she moved to walk up the stairs to the catwalk. She knew the others would be there soon to help her feed the raptors. Marcus followed her before he leaned over the rail to see if he could see a better view of the raptors. Eclipse made a noise as she saw him leaning over it. She moved to pull him back. The woman heard a crack and whine. Marcus’ eyes widened as he felt the railing fall forward. Eclipse felt like she was moving in slow motion as the railing fell and the boy fell into the raptor paddock.  
  
“Shit,” she said as time sped back up for her. “Marcus!”  
  
The teenager didn’t respond as she stared over the broken railing. “Oh no. Marcus!”

Marcus had fallen unconscious from the fall with the way he had landed. He lay there, near the middle/back of the paddock, unmoving. Eclipse hissed as she moved to get down the stairs to the gate. It would do no good if she jumped into the paddock and broke something from that height as well.  
  
“Hang in there, Marcus.”  
  
Marcus groaned as he held his head. The images in his vision were flooded and blurry. He rubbed the sore spot on his head as he moved to sit up. His senses were heightened as he heard the bushes rustle around him. He shook his head to clar his vision. The boy’s eyes widened as he realized the predicament he was currently in. His head moved to the bushes as he heard and watched them rustle.  
  
“E-Eclipse,” he whispered.  
  
Luna’s third eyelid flickered as she appeared in front of Marcus. The black raptor narrowed her eyes before she snarled. She moved in position to pounce on him as Eclipse got to the gate. She slammed on the button to get it open as the outer gate closed. She pushed on the button to make it move faster.  
  
“Marcus!”  
  
A high pitched shrill pierced the air as Cassiopeia slammed into Luna as she moved to pounce on Marcus. Growling, snarling and hissing noises pierced Marcus’ ears as he saw Cassiopeia being pushed off Luna as she slid a few feet. Luna snarled at Marcus. He made a noise before jumping as Cassie wrapped herself around the teen. She lowered herself as she trilled at Luna as her front claws outstretched. Marcus watched as she moved to tackle Luna as the raptor went to try and get at him.


	3. Snapshot: Hot Dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before a disaster. Before Ru and Eclipse really began to talk. Before the creature that awaits them --- Eclipse had to deal with baby raptors. These raptors love hot dogs.

Arulius stared at the center screen in control central as his eye twitched. The park was starting to get a hold of its footing in the theme park industry, and this was the first thing that had to happen. He pressed the speed dial button on his cell phone before placing it against his ear. He tapped his foot as he watched the beeping red light dash across the park map. The man bit his lip as he didn’t get an answer. He shoved the phone into his pocket before he stalked out of the room. His dress shoes made small, click noises as he bounded down the hall to the garage. Sena sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose as he stared at his notes. The meeting had been interrupted. He glanced at the dot moving across the screen. He stared at the indicator that labeled the dinosaurs. He groaned.   
  
“Ammy,” he muttered into his hands.   
  
Eclipse cursed as the gold striped raptor pup slipped through her fingers. She snarled a bit before bounding after the dinosaur. She hadn’t meant to lose contact with Amsy. The raptor baby managed to sneak through the bars of the paddock. The raptor squealed as she dodged around and under the legs of park goers. Some yelped. Some aww’d at her. Some jumped onto benches and tables to get away from the little raptor. Some others tried to kick her.   
  
“Do  _ not  _ kick my raptor!” snarled Eclipse as she grabbed the ankle of a guest before tossing them on the ground. “Amsy! GET BACK HERE YOUNG LADY!!”   
  
The raptor pup turned to stare at Eclipse as she heard her words before hissing. The raptor turned to run away from her once she got that noise out of her system. The raptor trainer puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. The raptor had talked back to her. She gave a face before her expression dropped to one that a mother would give their misbehaving child.   
  
“Do not  _ sass  _ me, child!”   
  
Amsy turned to run underneath another person’s legs. Eclipse made a noise as she ran into them. An arm wrapped around her waist as she felt herself falling backwards. Blue stared into gold before she was unceremoniously dropped to the ground. The woman let out a hiss as she hit the concrete before she moved to glare at the man who dropped her. She sat up a bit to rub her back.   
  
“What was the point of catching me if you were just going to let me ---?!”   
  
“Ms. Guardian.”   
  
“Fuck,” she muttered as she finally realized who she had run into at that moment. “Good afternoon, Mr. Law.”   
  
“Why is there a hatchling running around the park?” he asked her as he moved to brush some dust and dirt off himself.

“She snuck through the bars,” Eclipse explained with a nervous chuckle. “But, seriously, we’ll do this later. I need to find my --” The woman went to dive after the gold striped raptor as she dashed past them with a hot dog link in her mouth. She had to dive after the raptor near Arulius. Eclipse managed to grab Amsy before wrangling her in her arms. The woman looked up as she heard the man hiss.   
  
“Shit,” hissed Arulius as he held his eye. “What the fuck was tha --”   
  
He had looked down a bit to see what had smacked him in the eye, but his good eye found something else entirely. Eclipse was sitting on the ground with the raptor in her arms. The dinosaur was happily eating her hot dog link. His face turned red before he turned away from the woman. Eclipse tilted her head as she watched him turn away from her. She frowned a bit before moving to get off the ground.   
  
“Well, I’ve got Amsy now. Happy?”   
  
“Y-Yes,” he squeaked before slapping his free hand over his mouth.   
  
Arulius was slowly losing his own composure. He shook his head before looking toward the woman. He made a noise as he watched her cuddle with the creature. Amsy squeaked, happy for the attention, as she nuzzled the woman’s cheek. Eclipse giggled as she nuzzled the little raptor back before glancing at the director. She blinked.   
  
“Oh, um,” she hummed. “You’re bleeding.”   
  
She pointed at her own nose to give emphasis on where he was bleeding. Arulius’ face turned redder than a ripe tomato as he moved to cover his nose. His red, sore eye was forgotten as he tried to get his nose to stop bleeding. Eclipse watched him before she moved to allow Amsy rest around her shoulders.   
  
“Are you okay?”   
  
“Y-Yeah,” he muttered. “J-Just dry air. It’s hot out here.”   
  
Eclipse frowned. “I suppose in the park it might be a bit warmer and muggier.” She knew the dinosaur paddocks were kept at a decent temperature for the reptiles. The park, itself, wasn’t as well regulated. The two of them were in the heat of the sun at the moment. “Well, you should go get that eye looked at as well as your no ---” She squinted her eyes as she moved to pick the button off the ground.   
  
“Oh,” she said as she stared at it. “That’s the button to my shirt. I can’t believe another one had fallen off.”   
  
Arulius stared at her as she had bent over a bit to examine the button. He made a noise as the raptor baby hissed and growled at him. He made another noise as she managed to whip the hot dog link forward enough to smack him in the face with it. Eclipse gasped as she grabbed the hot dogs from the raptor.   
  
“You don’t do that!” she hissed. “I’m sorry!”   
  
“I-It’s fine,” he muttered. “I’ll talk to you about his incident later, Ms. Guardian. You should go put your shoulder raptor away.”   
  
“Oh, um, right,” she said as she frowned at the use of his words. “Well, I guess I’ll speak to you later, director.”   
  
“I’ll see that we will,” Arulius muttered before he moved to walk in the opposite direction.   
  
Eclipse watched him leave before she moved to scratch Amsy underneath the chin. The raptor purred and trilled as she rubbed her snout against Eclipse’s hand. The woman laughed a bit.    
  
“He’s so weird, Amsy.”


	4. Halloween [Snapshot Part 1] : Pumpkin Smashing & Present Giving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're going back in time! Eclipse does this every year with the raptors. She tosses pumpkins to them, so they can get in the spirit of fall and Halloween. They also eat them despite being carnivores. It's a treat.

Arulius scrolled through his tablet as he sipped at his iced latte. He had his legs crossed as he sat twisted on the chair at the cafe. He glanced up to spot the decorations and plastic jack o’ lanterns that lined the park’s shopping center. He frowned at the decorations before tapping his apple pencil against his iPad. He needed to make sure their annual Fright Night would run smooth like it had done every other year. He snorted a bit at the thought before continuing to scroll through the iPad. His checklist was getting checked off -- slowly.   
  
“Why don’t you go home?”   
  
“I have a job,” he answered as his gold eyes glanced up.   
  
Gold met gold as the director winced before he looked down at his iPad once again. Every year Hekabe would get on his case about going home over the Halloween holiday. Every year he would tell her an excuse of being too busy to spend time with his family. Hekabe sighed as she sipped at tea. Arulius always skipped his birthday to make sure the park ran smoothly. Every year Fright Night went off without a hitch. She tapped her fingers on the table before sighing. Every year their conversation would go nowhere.   
  
“I’m sure your family would love to see you,” she told him. “Especially for your birthday.”   
  
“Birthdays are overrated.”   
  
“Really?”   
  
“I’m too old to celebrate my birthday,” Arulius said as he gave Hekabe a look. “I’m not a little kid anymore.”   
  
“No, you’re not,” she hummed. “But, everybody deserves to celebrate their birthday with their family.”   
  
“What are you doing this weekend?” he asked her.   
  
“I’m heading home for Halloween,” she hummed. “I won’t miss Trick or Treat. Allen’s still in that stage of wanting to dress up and get free candy.”

“Cute,” he hummed. “You should leave soon. The ferry won’t wait if you’re running late.”   
  
Hekabe laughed as she finished her tea. “Oh I know. And, it doesn’t leave for another hour. I thought I’d stopped by the raptor paddock to help Eclipse.”   
  
Arulius paused as he stared at Hekabe. His face shifted into one of confusion. Eclipse was doing something with the raptors. The woman laughed as she saw his expression before smiling at him. Arulius frowned.   
  
“Why don’t you come with me? I can’t believe you’ve never seen her Halloween tradition with the raptors. The girls love it.”   
  
Arulius stared at Hekabe before he nodded. He was curious about this Halloween tradition. He moved to put the apple pen away. Hekabe whistled.    
  
“That’s a fancy digital pen. Does it have your name engraved on it?”   
  
Arulius stared at the pen before he smiled softly. “Yeah. It was a gift. I found it on my desk in my office this morning.”   
  
Hekabe smiled as she stood up. “Well, I’m glad you’re using it then. Come on. Let’s go.”

  
\-------

Eclipse lifted the pumpkin box from her Jeep as she made her way to the paddock. The woman laughed as she heard the clicking and trilling of the raptors as they watched her at the gate. They knew what the pumpkins meant. She smiled at them before putting the box near the catwalk steps. She moved closer to the gate to pet the snouts of the four of them. She smiled softly before waving Hattie and Beau over to her. The two children ran to the gate before going to pet whatever they could reach of the raptors. Cassie moved to lay on the ground to let the girls’ pet her snout. She had always done this for them. Eclipse chuckled as she ruffled Hattie’s hair.   
  
“Are you two excited?”   
  
“Yes!” they shouted.   
  
“This is the first year you’ll let us throw them pumpkins,” Hattie said as she grinned up at her mother. “I’m so excited.”   
  
Beau didn’t say much as she moved to continue to pet Cassie. Cassie was her favorite velociraptor. She was always so gentle with them. The girl appreciated the dinosaur for that reason. Cassie trilled before pulling back as she watched Hekabe and Arulius approach. Amsy snarled as she saw Arulius. She banged against the gate causing the young man to jump. Eclipse flicked the raptor’s nose before giving her a look.    
  
“Will you stop scaring our guests?” she scolded the raptor.   
  
Amsy hissed before running into the brush. The other raptors followed her as Eclipse sighed. Hekabe laughed. She had never seen Amsy react like that to anybody. She hadn’t seen her with Arulius until that moment. The director gave the older woman a look of contempt. She didn’t have to laugh at the fact that it would seem Amsy hated him. He rubbed his cheek before raising an eyebrow at the pumpkins.   
  
“What are you …”   
  
“Every year, I throw pumpkins to the raptors. They can smash them. It’s a lot of fun watching them play with the pumpkins.”   
  
“Why?”   
  
“Because even they should have fun for Halloween. Besides, we’ll be leaving this today to head inland for the girls to trick or treat.”   
  
“Ah.”   
  
“Ru doesn’t  _ leave  _ the island,” teashed Hekabe as she grabbed a few pumpkins. “He spends his birthday all alone on this island.”   
  
Arulius sputtered as he gave Hekabe a look. He was her boss. He could fire her if he wished. The man sighed before jumping as the two girls appeared before him.   
  
“Why do you spend time here when a lot of the administration leaves?” asked Beau. “Isn’t it lonely?”   
  
“It’s my job to make sure Fright Night goes well,” the man explained.   
  
“It goes well every year!” Hattie said as she spoke with her hands. “It also happens after Halloween! You can do something besides spending it on this island!” She gasped. “Mom! He should go trick or treating with us!”   
  
“Hattie!” shouted Eclipse as she managed to stumble through her words. “I doubt Mr. Law would want to go trick or treating with us.”   
  
Arulius sighed as he picked up some pumpkins as well before he began to walk up the steps. He smiled at the two little girls.    
  
“Can I help?”   
  
“Yes!” they chimed as they went to grab their own pumpkins.   
  
Eclipse sighed as she grabbed the few leftover pumpkins before following Hekabe up the steps as she had followed the girls. Hekabe looked back as she smiled at Eclipse. Eclipse shrugged her shoulders before snickering. She got to the top of the steps before going to set her pumpkins down. She placed her pinkies in her mouth before emitting a shrill whistle. The raptors appeared below them. The girls chirped as they recognized the pumpkins.   
  
“Are you four excited?” asked Eclipse as she smiled at the raptors.   
  
The raptors chirped and trilled as they bopped their heads. Eclipse laughed as she moved to throw a pumpkin for them. Luna was the first to catch it as she caught it with ease. The raptor snarled before crushing the pumpkin with her jaw. She chirped happily before dropping it on the ground then biting at the chunks that hadn’t been crushed in her maw. Eclipse laughed as she watched Luna. The woman threw another pumpkin causing Calypso to screech as she raced after it.

“I have plenty of pumpkins,” Eclipse said as she snickered. “Please don’t fight over them.”   
  
Beau and Hattie grinned at each other before they tossed their pumpkins. Amsy chirped before jumping to catch one of the pumpkins from the air. Her tail swayed side to side, happy, as she moved to toss the pumpkin in the air before catching it once again. She tossed the pumpkin up and down a few times before snapping it in half at the last toss. Amsy squealed as she watched another pumpkin soar through the sky before she chased after it. The girls giggled as they threw more pumpkins.   
  
“Toss one,” Eclipse told Arulius as she watched him hesitate. “They can’t reach you up here. Besides, Cassie has been waiting patiently.”   
  
Arulius nodded as he took a tentative step forward before he threw the pumpkin at Cassie. It landed, slightly squashed, on the ground in front of the raptor. Cassie tilted her head to the side before she shrilled. The velociraptor pounced on the pumpkin before going to shake it around by shaking her head back and forth. The director watched the dinosaurs in awe as they continued to play with the pumpkins that were thrown into the paddock for them. He didn’t realize they would eat them as they were carnivores.   
  
“I’m not sure why they act like scavengers,” hummed Eclipse as she leaned on the railing. “But, they’ll eat anything I give them.”   
  
“Huh.”   
  
“It’s probably their DNA,” Hekabe scoffed as she threw the last pumpkin into the paddock. “They aren’t all dinosaur.”   
  
Eclipse grumbled as she heard Hekabe. The young woman knew her raptors weren’t complete dinosaurs, but she always thought of them as living, breathing dinosaurs. She smiled as she saw Amsy looking up at her. The gold and black raptor snorted at Arulius before picking up her pumpkin then walking into the brush. Eclipse laughed.   
  
“She does  _ not  _ like you.”   
  
“Yeah, I’ve noticed.”   
  
Eclipse continued to laugh. Arulius watched her before his gaze turned toward the children. He had thought about Hattie’s words. His birthday was in two days, and he knew Fright Night was prepared to work in their favor. He sighed before smiling a bit.   
  
“So, about coming trick or treating with you …”   
  
Hattie and Beau gasped as they heard him before grinning.   
  
“Yes!” they said.   
  
“But,” Hattie hummed. “You have to dress up.”   
  
Arulius groaned as Eclipse laughed even harder than she had been beforehand. She pat his shoulder before giving him a sly grin.   
  
“Don’t worry. We’ll make sure the girls don’t go overboard.”

The director sighed as he got out his tablet to email the workers that were running Fright Night to let them know he would not be there over the weekend. Eclipse blinked as she noticed the apple pen he was using as a smile formed on her face.   
  
“Oh, that’s a nice pen.”   
  
Arulius paused as he looked at the pen before looking at Eclipse. He smiled.

“Yeah. I got it for my birthday.”


	5. Halloween [Snapshot Part 2] : Trick, Treat and Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you mean there's a kiss?! Halloween has taken Arulius to Eclipse's adopted mother's place! Best part? It's cold and snowy. Well, I hope you enjoyed this two part snapshot!

  
  


“What do you mean you’re going to a co-worker’s place for Halloween?” asked Morgan as he shoved his way into the center of the iPad’s screen. “You decide to actually spend your birthday off that dinosaur infested island … and you spend it with a coworker? Is she hot?”   
  
“Morgan!” Arulius shouted as he moved to rub a hand over his face. “Please, Morgan, do not be yourself right now.”   
  
“That’s all I know,” laughed Morgan.   
  
The director didn’t dare move his hand until the redness that invaded his face would disappear. He didn’t know how to deal with Morgan some days. He sighed before deciding to remove his hand from his face. He gave his brother a look causing the older twin to roll his eyes before handing the iPad back to Marcus. Marcus reappeared on the screen before he smiled at his older brother.   
  
“Sorry about Morgan, Ru! You know how he can get …”   
  
“Yes. I know how he can get ... Are you two going trick or treating this year?”   
  
“No. We’re going to dress up and hand out candy this year. Mom insists since she doesn’t trust Morgan by himself.”   
  
“She afraid he’d more likely tp a house and not collect free candy?”   
  
“You know it.”   
  
Arulius laughed as he leaned his back and elbows on the railing of the dock as he continued to talk with Marcus. He was waiting for Eclipse to appear to board the ferry. He didn’t have to pack too much, but she had her kids to pack for as well. It was a few more minutes before Marcus disconnected the call to get ready for trick or treat that night. He chuckled a bit. His hometown never had a trick or treat on Halloween. Gold eyes flickered toward the entrance of the dock as he saw Eclipse with the two girls. He smiled at them before heading over to grab a bag or two from the woman.   
  
“Thank you,” she said with a smile gracing her face. “I could have dealt with the bags, but it’s nice to have the help. The girls had to bring  _ a lot  _ of stuff with them.”   
  
“Hey,” Hattie said as she made a face. “We have to make sure Halloween is the best ever! Besides, we’ll be staying for a few days. Grandma said we were.”   
  
Eclipse sighed as she nodded. “Yeah, we’ll be there for the weekend.”   
  
“Then, we need a lot of stuff!” chirped the brown haired child as she formed a grin on her face. “Mama, the ferry will get here soon right?”   
  
“Why can’t you be as patient as your sister?” laughed Eclipse.   
  
“I ask that question about Morgan all the time,” laughed Arulius as he walked to the waiting area of the dock. “We can sit down here as we wait for the ferry.”   
  
“I’m so glad you were able to get the ferry to come back today,” the raptor trainer said as she moved to sit beside him. “It’s a lot easier than rushing when I realized we had lost track of time with the raptors.” 

“I am the director of Triassic Planet. I can get away with a lot of things,” he said with a teasing smirk gracing his face.   
  
“Yeah, yeah, oh high and mighty,” snorted Eclipse. “You’re such a prince charming.”   
  
“I try my best!” he chirped.   
  
The both of them looked over to the water as they heard the ferry approaching. Arulius sighed as he cracked his knuckles. He knew the captain of the ferry was not going to be happy with him. Everybody should have boarded the day before if they were planning on leaving. He put a smile on his face as the ferry pulled beside the dock. The young man grabbed the bags he had placed on the wood before moving to board the boat.   
  
“Hello captain!”   
  
“You better have a good reason for this,” the captain grumbled as he gave Arulius a look. “I planned on carving pumpkins with my kids today.”   
  
“I’m going to make sure you’re paid extra, captain,” the director said with a soft smile etched on his features. “I wouldn’t have asked you to come back for us if I wasn’t planning on paying you.”   
  
“I better be paid, Mr. Law,” he snorted before heading back toward his post. “Please get settled in. The ferry is leaving in five minutes.”   
  
Arulius’ smile dropped before he grumbled, “Grouch.”

\---------

Hattie and Beau pressed their faces against the window of the rental car as they tried to count all the snowflakes that were falling. They didn’t see snow too often due to living on the island. Beau moved to pull on her mother’s sleeve to get the woman’s attention. Eclipse flicked her eyes at Beau before giving a smile.   
  
“I’m driving, sweetie,” she hummed. “Yes?”   
  
“Can we build a snowman?”   
  
Eclipse stared at the snow that was falling on the windshield. She bit her lip before sighing. The snow isn't thick enough to build snowballs let alone snowmen. She gave Beau an apologetic smile.    
  
“I don’t think we have the right snow for that, sweetie. Maybe we can do it around Christmas.”   
  
“You come here for Christmas?” asked Arulius    
  
“Every year!” Hattie said as she leaned up to see them the best she could at the moment. “Mom, Beau, Uncle Sena and Uncle Craft all come over to grandma’s house.”   
  
“Huh,” he muttered.   
  
“Please tell me you go home for Christmas …”   
  
“I do! Just Christmas though. I spend the New Year holiday getting ready for the next year’s events and such. It all needs to be done before the new year appears.”   
  
“You’re a workaholic.”   
  
“My brothers tell me that.”   
  
“Well, they’re right.”   
  
Hattie and Beau looked between the two arguing adults before they giggled to each other. Their mother and her boss seemed to get along really, really well with each other. The girls high fived each other before deciding they were going to try and get them together. Hattie moved closer to her sister to whisper in her ear.    
  
“Do you think grandma will help us?”   
  
Beau thought about it before she nodded, “Yeah, I think grandma will help us.”

\----------

Arulius hit the doorbell as he waited with all the bags. Eclipse held the two girls in her arms. It was a lot colder than he had anticipated when he stepped out of the vehicle. His hands shook a bit as he tried to keep himself from appearing like he was freezing. He moved to ring the doorbell once again.   
  
“Are they home?”   
  
“Probably,” admitted Eclipse.   
  
Both of them stared at the eight year old boy who had answered the door. Allen blinked at them before he stared at Arulius. The man smiled before making a noise as Allen gave him a look. Eclipse bit back a laugh as she moved to stand in front of Arulius. She smiled at Allen. Two different colored eyes stared back at her before he grinned.   
  
“Clipse!” he said. “Mom said you were coming. She didn’t mention any guests though.”   
  
“She didn’t tell anybody Mr. Law is coming?”   
  
“Rude,” huffed Arulius. “Forgetting about me.”   
  
“Not forgetting,” huffed Hekabe as she moved to shoo Allen away from the door. “Surprise. Nobody ever expects Eclipse to bring a guy home for the holidays.”   
  
Eclipse’s face turned red as she tried to spit out words. “M-Mom!”   
  
Arulius turned red at those words as well. That was definitely what it seemed like at the moment. He would have rubbed his neck if he wasn’t holding all the bags. Hekabe moved to let them through as they came in out of the cold. It was when he was able to place the bags on the floor did Eclipse’s shout connect in his mind.   
  
“M-Mom?!” he yelped. He turned to Eclipse. “D-Did you j-just say m-mom?!”   
  
Eclipse stared at him before tilting her head a bit. “Yes. Mo -- Hekabe basically helped raise me since I was 11. I’m definitely her daughter. At least, she keeps telling me that.”   
  
Hekabe winked at Arulius before moving to take some bags. “I’ll go put these in your room. I don’t have more than one extra room. So, I’ll get a cot for you, Ru.”   
  
Arulius stared at Hekabe before staring at Eclipse. He stared at Hekabe as she walked up the stairs. He was a bit slack jawed to be fair. He hadn’t expected the whole family thing that had appeared in front of him.   
  
“Morgan would find this absolutely hilarious,” he muttered.   
  
“Pardon?” asked Eclipse as she moved to grab the rest of the bags.   
  
“N-Nothing.”

\----------

Arulius stared at himself in the mirror before sticking his tongue out at the reflection. He didn’t know what he was expecting when his reflection stuck their tongue out as well.   
  
“Have you ever wondered if your mirror reflection is from another reality?” asked Eclipse as she walked up behind him.   
  
The man jumped before twisting around to face Eclipse. She giggled a bit at his surprised face before moving to fix her own hat. The director stared at the woman before gulping. She was not supposed to look that good in a witch’s costume. Eclipse gave him a coy smile before poking his chest.    
  
“Are you sure you’re not an actual prince?” she huffed. “That costume fits you way too well.”   
  
Arulius snapped his attention back to her as he heard her words. He had to stop himself from staring below her face. His mouth felt dry at the moment.   
  
“N-No,” he said. “I-I’m not a p-prince.”   
  
The woman made a face before sighing as she placed a hand on her hip. “Fine. Fine. Hurry up. The girls are getting antsy.” She disappeared into the living room afterward.   
  
Arulius had decided he should have never left the bathroom. He stared at the mirror hanging on the hallway wall before moving his hair out of his face. He tched before going to place it in a ponytail. He bit his lip before groaning.

“I should have stayed on the island,” he muttered. “Well, time to go, Ru.”   
  
Eclipse herded the girls to the couch as she looked at the watch that was still on her wrist. Trick or Treat started fifteen minutes ago, and she knew she wanted to attend the block party that they were having in the community center. The woman tapped her foot before staring at Arulius as he appeared in the living room.   
  
“No,” she said.   
  
“W-What?” he yelped.   
  
“You’re not supposed to look that good with your hair in a ponytail,” she said as she pointed at him.   
  
“Yeah? And you’re not supposed to look that good in a witch’s costume,” he huffed.   
  
“P-Pardon?” the woman squeaked as her face turned red.   
  
“Uh,” he muttered as he realized what he had just said to her. “Let’s just go trick or treating. We need to catch up with Hekabe and Davon, right?”   
  
Hattie and Beau, dressed as a fairy and a werewolf, stared at each before giggling. They had picked out their mother’s costume, and they were not expecting this reaction at all from either of the adults. The girls high fived each other before getting off the couch. Beau grabbed her mother’s hand as Hattie grabbed Arulius’ before pulling him toward the door.   
  
“Let’s go!” the girl said. “I want free  _ candy _ .”   
  
“Okay, okay!” laughed the director as he moved toward the door. “Let’s go trick or treating.”

\--------

“Hattie, stick with us!” shouted Arulius as he watched the girl run ahead of them.   
  
“She does this every year,” laughed Hekabe as she shoved her hands in the pockets of the jacket she was wearing. “The girl gets too excited, and she doesn’t know when to stop. But, she doesn’t go too far.”   
  
“I wish she wouldn’t,” grumbled Eclipse as she watched her daughter run ahead to the next house. “I realize that you know everybody in this neighborhood, but I really wish she’d stay here.”   
  
“She’ll be fine,” hummed Davon as he watched his own son as he went to different houses with Alex and Lexi. “The kids need to run off this energy somehow.”   
  
Eclipse made a noise as she bit her lip. She didn’t like when the children ran off by themselves, but she knew Hattie knew to stay where she could see her from a distance. Arulius moved to grip her hand before swinging it a bit as he smiled at the raptor trainer. The young woman made a noise as she turned red before smiling at him. She weaved her fingers through his own before pulling the director along to keep up with Hattie and Beau. Beau went for her sister before grabbing her hand to stop her.   
  
“Hattie, Hattie,” she said. “Look!”   
  
Hattie looked toward where she was pointing before she gasped. “They’re holding  _ hands _ !” She couldn’t believe her eyes. “They’re really holding hands!”   
  
The two girls looked at each other before squealing as they jumped up and down in place while holding their hands together. Hekabe snorted as she watched the girls before walking over to them. She patted their heads before shooing them along down the sidewalk. They needed to finish trick or treating before heading to the community center. The girls giggled as they raced down the street. They wanted to finish trick or treating before going to party with the other kids. The vet watched them before staring at Eclipse and Arulius. She frowned.    
  
“I can watch the girls if you want to head to the community center.”   
  
“Why?” asked Eclipse.   
  
“He’s cold.”   
  
Eclipse blinked as she stared at Arulius before laughing a bit. “Yeah, it is a bit chilly outside. Are you okay?”   
  
“I wouldn’t mind a warm building,” muttered Arulius. “Michigan is cold.”   
  
“The island is just too warm,” huffed Hekabe.   
  
Arulius stared at Hekabe before he stared at Eclipse. His mind went back to early that day before he turned red. He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Hekabe was so close to Eclipse that the woman called her  _ mom _ . Eclipse stared at him before she tugged at his hand.   
  
“Are you alright?”   
  
“Y-Yeah,” he said. “I just …”   
  
His face turned red. “I can’t believe she’s your  _ mom _ .”    
  
“I-I mean,” Eclipse said. “I-Is that a bad thing?”   
  
“Yes, no, I mean …”    
  
Eclipse stared at him before she bit her lip. “What do you mean?”   
  
“I just -- I don’t …” His attentiveness slipped as an accent appeared as he spoke to her. “Listen, Eclipse, I …”   
  
“I-Is it so bad that she’s my mom? Should I have told you b-before hand?”   
  
“I wish  _ somebody  _ would have told me that,” he said as he shot Hekabe a look.   
  
“Oh,” she said as she missed his look he had given the woman. “I see.”   
  
The young woman pulled her witch’s hat over her face as she tried to hide the fact she was beginning to cry. She didn’t think not telling him about her relationship with Dr. Hatter was such a big deal. Arulius made a noise as he panicked internally. He didn’t want Eclipse to cry. He moved to try and help her, but she pulled herself away from him.   
  
“D-Don’t cry,” he said as he tried to pull her hat away from her face.   
  
“I-I’m not c-crying,” she said as tears appeared below the rim of the hat.   
  
“Eclipse, that’s not what I meant .. I mean …” He stammered as he tried to form a coherent sentence.   
  
He watched the woman continue to cry as he held his hands on her upper arms. He didn’t know what to say to her without telling her he’d been complaining to Hekabe how  _ frustrated  _ he had been from the woman. He rubbed her arms before moving to lift the hat from her face. He winced as he saw the tears that she was hiding.   
  
“Eclipse, I’m sorry,” he told her. “There is nothing wrong with the fact that Hekabe is your mother.”   
  
“Then, why …” she hiccuped   
  
“It’s complicated,” he told her as he moved to wipe a few tears off her cheek. “Believe me. I’m not upset with you. Long from it.”   
  
“O-Okay,” she said.    
  
“L-Let’s go to the center,” he told her. “Let’s go have some fun.”   
  
Eclipse nodded as she gave him a small smile. “Okay. Let’s go have some spooky fun.”   
  
Arulius smiled at her as he moved to take her hand. He grinned. “Yes, let’s go have some spooky fun!”

\---------

Eclipse laughed as she watched Arulius trying to bob for apples. It was comical to her. He gave her a look, apple in his mouth, as he snorted a bit afterward. He spit out the apple before biting into it. He gave her a grin.   
  
“Told you I could do it.”   
  
“Oh yes, the stick in the mud Triassic Planet director can bop for apples,” she snorted.   
  
“Mhm,” he said.   
  
The raptor trainer watched him eat the apple before she blinked. She hadn’t realized his canines were sharp. She snorted a bit before she covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing. Arulius stopped his bite into the apple before giving her a curious look.    
  
“You’re a vampire prince now,” she teased.   
  
“Ah. You’ve noticed,” he told her. “Yeah, I’ve always had unnaturally pointed canines.”   
  
“Big mood,” Eclipse said as she opened her mouth wider to show him her own canines. “We’re two weirdos.”   
  
“I like being a weirdo with you,” he muttered as he watched her move to grab more apple cider. The man smiled softly as he watched her interact with others in the room as she got her cider. “Fuck.”   
  
Eclipse came back with another cup for him. “Here you go. I figured you might be thirsty.”   
  
“Extremely,” he said before his face turned red at his own words.   
  
“You okay?” she asked him as she tilted her head.    
  
“F-Fine!” he said before taking the cup and drinking the cider.   
  
“If you say sooo?” she hummed. “Are you enjoying yourself, Arulius?”   
  
“You can call me Ru,” he muttered.   
  
“Pardon?”   
  
“You can call me Ru,” he said as he looked up from his cup. “Please, call me Ru.”   
  
“Ru,” she said as she tested it. “I like that.”   
  
“Me too,” he said as he heard her test it on her tongue. “You can keep saying it.”   
  
Eclipse stared at him as the red on his cheeks turned darker. He needed to stop before he was too far ahead. At that moment, he was glad Hekabe was dealing with the kids. He would have never heard the end of it from her if she had been there.   
  
“I mean I hope you continue to use it,” he said as he awkwardly laughed as he rubbed his cheek. He looked around the area to see if he could cause a distraction. He blinked as he saw people dancing. “Do .. do you want to dance?”

Eclipse grinned as she heard him. “I’d  _ love  _ to dance!”   
  
Arulius didn’t have a chance to respond as she moved to pull him to the dance floor. An upbeat song was playing as she began to dance. The director couldn’t help but stare at her as she danced. She was moving with the music. Eclipse danced in step with the timing of the music. The prince dressed man stopped to stare at her as she moved. He gulped before sweating a bit. Arulius was finding that Eclipse was not good for his health. He smiled at her before going to try and dance with the woman. He had asked her to dance after all. Eclipse smiled as she watched him begin to dance before she moved to dance with him. She pulled him along as he began to laugh causing her to laugh as well. They were not at work. They were not coworkers. They were two people getting along and enjoying themselves. Eclipse panted as the song changed to a slower song. She went to leave the floor when Arulius stopped her.   
  
“No,” he said. “Dance with me.”   
  
“You sure?” she asked him.   
  
“I’m a good slow dancer,” he said with a grin etched on his face.   
  
“Prove it,” she told him as she moved to place her hands around his neck.   
  
“I will,” he said as he placed his hands where they should be on her when dancing to a slow song.    
  
“Not bad,” she snickered as they danced to the song. “I guess you are a good slow dancer. You haven’t stepped on my feet.”   
  
“I can if I’m disappointing you.”   
  
Eclipse laughed as she moved to loosen her arms around him as he pulled her closer as they continued to sway to the music. She hummed with the song as Arulius moved to spin her causing the woman to laugh once again. Arulius smiled as he went back to placing his one hand in one of her hands before placing his other on her hip.   
  
“Are you having fun?’ she asked him as she leaned closer toward him.   
  
“Yes,” he told her. “I’m glad you convinced me to come with you to Michigan for Halloween. Despite the cold.”   
  
The woman smiled at him. Arulius smiled at her. It seemed natural to lean down to kiss her. It was instinct. Eclipse kissed him back without much thought either. The slow song had ended as they stopped dancing as they kissed. Arulius pulled away from her before placing his forehead on her own as he went to catch his own breath. Eclipse was red, and he decided that was adorable. He went to say something before it all caught up to him. He turned red.   
  
“We kissed,” he whispered.   
  
“We did,” hummed Eclipse. “Oh.”   
  
Her own face turned red before she untangled herself from him. She moved a few paces back before playing with her own fingers. She couldn’t look at Arulius. She had kissed her boss. It couldn’t have been a good thing.   
  
“S-Sorry,” she said.   
  
“N-No,” he said, accent slipping. “I-It .. I-It was kind of n-nice.”   
  
He had begun to twindle his own thumbs as he tried to look everywhere but at Eclipse. He didn’t know how to act after kissing her. He wanted to kiss her again, truth be told. He squinted at his own thoughts.   
  
“O-Oh,” was Eclipse’s response. “W-We s-should find the girls. I-It’s time to go home.”   
  
“R-Right,” he said.   
  
They went to find the others. Davon was carrying the girls as they were falling asleep in his arms. Hekabe raised an eyebrow as she saw the two of them. She looked between two very red faces before she sighed.    
  
“What?” she asked.    
  
“N-Nothing,” Eclipse squeaked as she looked away from her mother. “Nothing at all.”   
  
Hekabe narrowed her eyes before she grinned. “What? Did you kiss or something?”   
  
Arulius and Eclipse turned redder at Hekabe’s words. The woman grinned even more as she saw their reactions.   
  
“You did! You kissed each other!” she exclaimed.   
  
“Mooooom,” whined Eclipse. “Please. I-It’s nothing. We d-didn’t kiss.”   
  
“Y-Yeah,” Arulius said. “W-We did n-nothing of the sort.”   
  
“Ru, your British accent is showing.”   
  
Arulius shut his mouth as he bit his lip. His accent was giving him away. He sighed before running a hand through his hair. He didn’t know what to think at the moment. He had kissed Eclipse. He had enjoyed it. He wanted to kiss her again. He stared at the woman before making a noise. He couldn’t kiss her again. They were boss and employee. It would be frowned upon at work. He frowned.   
  
“Anyway,” Eclipse said quietly as she went to take Beau from Davon. “It’s getting late. We should head home.” She paused to stare at Arulius. “W-We can talk about this later. Okay?”   
  
The director stared at her before he nodded. “Okay.”   
  
Eclipse smiled at him as she moved to find the girls’ jackets to get them ready to head home. They would sleep all night, and she appreciated that fact at the very least. She grabbed her own jacket before finishing getting ready to head out. She had fun. Halloween hadn’t been that fun in a long time. She smiled softly at the thought. It was enjoyable. Her face turned red at the thought of the kiss having been enjoyable. She shook her head.   
  
“We definitely need to talk,” she muttered before stepping into the snow.


	6. Chapter 3 : Terrible Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Hey, look, it's an actual new chapter. //gasp]
> 
> Arulius is having a terrible day at Triassic Planet, and it's about to get a whole. lot. worse.  
> But, also, are you ready to hate Vanessa?

Marcus pulled himself closer to the wall as he watched Cassiopia latch herself into Luna’s skin. The raptor squealed before biting into the black raptor’s neck. Luna yelped before rolling to get her packmate to let go. She slid onto her feet with relative ease before snarling at Cassie. The green and brown colored velociraptor was on her feet in seconds before she trilled at Luna. Gold eyes watched the two of them before deciding to make a move. It was the wrong move as Luna lunged for him. She was tackled from the air by Cassiopia. Luna took a bite out of Cassie’s shoulder causing the older raptor to back off a bit. She licked her shoulder before jumping on the back of Luna as the other raptor had turned back to Marcus. Her claws dug into Luna causing her to scream in pain.   
  
“Marcus!” shouted Eclipse as she moved toward him. “Come here, Marcus.”   
  
Marcus shook his head. He was afraid to move at the moment. He didn’t know if Cassiopia would turn on him at a moment’s notice. Eclipse bit her lip as she looked at the two raptors. The woman made a quick decision. She placed her pinkies in her mouth before a shrill whistle echoed through the paddock. Cassiopia and Luna stopped their fighting as their heads turned toward the brush. A squeal and squawk rang through the paddock before Amsy slammed into her packmates. She pushed them away from each other before going to nip at Luna when the raptor began to bite at her. The gold striped raptor’s tail flipped back and forth before she trilled. Luna slammed into the ground as the beta pounced on her. Amsy hissed before barking at Cassie. The other raptor lowered her head in defeat.   
  
“Let’s go,” the raptor trainer said as she pulled on Marcus’ arm. “ _ Now _ .”   
  
The raptors turned to watch the two of them as they raced toward the gate. Amsy chattered before going to run after them. The other two raptors followed her action. The iguana shaded raptor was a bit slower than her sisters due to the injuries Luna had given her. Eclipse slammed on the paddock gate button as they swung underneath it. Clanging of the bars was heard as the velociraptors slammed into it. The woman huffed as she turned to give the raptors a look of contempt. They pressed themselves to the bars before moving to back away from her. Eclipse sighed before turning toward Marcus.   
  
“Are you injured?” she asked him before moving to look over the boy.   
  
“I-I’m fine,” he stammered as he tried not to cry. Eclipse moved his head to the side to see if there were any injuries. “I-I’m not h-hurt.”   
  
“You hit your head pretty hard,” the woman fretted. “We should get you looked at, Marcus. Let’s go talk to Hekabe. She’s a veterinarian, but she’ll be able to look you over.”   
  
“D-Don’t you have h-human doctors?”   
  
“Of course we do,” she said as she opened the gate outside the paddock. “But, I’d like to not let the whole park know you’ve somehow fallen into the raptor paddock. That … that shouldn’t have happened …”   
  
She bit her lip, blood appearing from the bite, as she moved toward the jeep in a stiff and slow pace. She had made sure the railings were secure. The occasional pig throwing a worker over the railing was one thing, but she didn’t like the fact the whole rail fell off when Marcus had leaned on it. She stared at Marcus as he stood there watching her. The woman waved him over to the jeep as she opened the door to the driver side. The teen moved to sit in the passenger side of the jeep before he held his head in his hand.   
  
“Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Eclipse as she watched him.   
  
“I’m fine,” muttered Marcus. “I’ll be okay.”   
  
\-------

Hekabe looked over Marcus’ head as he moved it to different angles for her. She hummed before smiling. There was a goose egg on his head, and it was a good sign of no concussion from the fall from the catwalk.   
  
“He’s fine, Eclipse,” the woman hummed as she sat in her seat. “I’m more worried about your raptors. You said Luna ripped a chunk out of Cassie?”   
  
Eclipse winced. She had been so worried about Marcus that she didn’t really react to her raptors tearing into each other. She rubbed her upper arm before giving Hekabe an apologetic smile. The woman sighed before waving the raptor trainer off. She smiled softly at the young woman.   
  
“I’ll let the clinic know that I’ll be bringing two tranquilized raptors into the bay,” she said.   
  
“B-But …”   
  
“Arulius will find out either way, Mooney,” the golden haired woman said. “I need to make sure Luna and Cassie are also cleaned up and healing.”   
  
Eclipse stared at her before sighing as she nodded. “Yeah. I know.”   
  
“I’m sure Mr. Law will understand, Clipse,” Hekabe said. “Marcus is unharmed, and I’m sure he’ll be relieved about that at the very least.”   
  
“It’ll be okay,” Marcus chimed in as he smiled at Eclipse. “You got me out quick. That other raptor came out of nowhere.”   
  
“Other raptor?” asked Hekabe with a raised eyebrow.   
  
“I reacted on instinct. I whistled for Amsy,” the younger woman explained. “She jumped in between the two to get them to stop fighting … before all three of them tried to get at Marcus and I.”   
  
“They really are wild animals.”   
  
“I know,” Eclipse muttered as she moved to head out of the office. “I’m going to get ready to tranq the girls. Let me know when the carrier van is on its way. I’ll tranq them right before you get there.”   
  
“Will do,” Hekabe said as she waved at her. “I’ll keep Marcus here with me to let the clinic and the director know what is going on at the moment.”   
  
Eclipse gulped as she paused in the doorway before walking quickly out of the room and down the hall. Hekabe sighed as she smiled at Marcus. The boy had stayed in his seat as he wasn’t sure what else to say besides what he had said a few moments ago. He smiled awkwardly at Hekabe before rubbing his arm.   
  
“S-Sorry.”   
  
“Don’t apologize,” the vet hummed as she picked up her phone. “These things happen. They’re accidents.”   
  
“Accidents,” he muttered. “Right.”   
  
\-------   
  
The director appeared at the clinic faster than if he was late for a meeting. He ran into the building, heels clicking, as he found the waiting room. The man moved inside before throwing his arms around Marcus. The teen made a noise as he was nearly tackled onto the floor. He wrapped his arms around his brother before starting to cry. Arulius made a noise as he moved to rub Marcus’ back. Eclipse winced as she saw the glare the man had given her. The woman rubbed her neck as she realized he was upset. She was not surprised Arulius Law was upset. His brother had fallen into the raptor paddock.    
  
“A-Arulius,” she began. “I-I can e-explain.”   
  
“Can you?” he hissed as he pulled Marcus closer to him.   
  
“I looked over those railings before you came for your review!” she said as her eyes narrowed at him. “You do not need to use that tone with me.”   
  
“Then why did my  _ brother  _ end up on the ground within the paddock?” he shouted back at her with a sharp tone.   
  
Eclipse went silent. He had a point. Marcus ended up in the paddock after a railing loosened on the catwalk. She sniffed as she tried to keep the tears from falling down her face. She couldn’t stop the stray tear that slipped down the curve of her cheek. Arulius’ eyes widened as he saw her starting to cry. He let go of Marcus before moving toward the raptor trainer. His thumb found its way to rub away the tears on one of her cheeks.    
  
“Hey, hey,” he said. “Don’t cry. Listen. I’m sorry. This isn’t your fault. Things happen. I know that. Eclipse, please don’t cry.”   
  
He hated to see Eclipse cry. He hated seeing it ever since she broke down crying on Halloween last year. He frowned. He had made her cry then as well. He sighed before pressing his forehead against her own causing Eclipse to hiccup as she moved her eyes to stare at him. He smiled at her before kissing her forehead.   
  
“Don’t cry. I’m sorry. I had a panic attack when I heard Marcus had fallen into the paddock. I shouldn’t have taken out that panic and anxiety on you. You made sure he was okay. Thank you.”    
  
He moved his other hand to her other cheek to wipe away all her tears. Eclipse hiccuped as she smiled at him. Her face had turned a light pink at his attention. Marcus watched the two of them with a slight open mouth. It would seem something had connected for him at that moment. He went to say something when the door opened to the waiting room. Eclipse and Arulius broke away from each other. Eclipse wiped away her tears as she turned toward Hekabe.   
  
“The transport van just got here. Let’s go, Eclipse.”

\---------

Arulius and Marcus watched from an office window into the bay as both raptors lay on tables. Two different teams were working on the raptors to get them cleaned and stitched. Hekabe was working on Cassiopeia with Eclipse at her side. The older raptor had the worst injuries from the fight. Eclipse stuck out her tongue, despite having a surgical mask on, as she held Cassie’s shoulder to keep the raptor from moving. Despite being tranquilized, the muscles still twitched due to the sensitivity of the scales and skin. Hekabe moved with precision and accuracy as she moved to stitch the shoulder wound. Marcus watched them before he turned toward his brother.    
  
“So, is that the woman you’ve gone on holiday with?”   
  
Arulius made a noise as he heard his brother. He turned to look at him before turning away from his younger brother.    
  
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”   
  
“I was in the same room as the two of you,” Marcus said as he continued to watch Eclipse and Hekabe work on Cassie. “I hope she’ll be okay.”   
  
“Cassiopeia was the one -- protected you -- right?”   
  
“Yeah. She defended me until the point that all three raptors went after Eclipse and I.”   
  
“She’ll be fine,” the director said. “Dr. Hatter is very good at her job. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have hired her.”   
  
“I bet … So. You and the raptor trainer?”   
  
“We’re not dating.”   
  
“You could have fooled me.”   
  
“We’re not allowed to date.”   
  
Marcus stared at Arulius in surprise. “What?”   
  
“It’s frowned upon for managers and associates to date.”   
  
“Is that all?”   
  
“Excuse me?”   
  
Marcus sighed as she turned toward his brother. He placed a hand on his hip before frowning a bit. Arulius made a noise before he turned away from Marcus. He didn’t want to have this conversation with his  _ sixteen  _ year old brother. Marcus narrowed his eyes as he clicked his tongue.   
  
“You’re an idiot, Ru.”   
  
Arulius went to reply when his phone rang. He made a noise before answering it.   
  
“Hello.” 

His facial expression seemed to display frustration and displeasement of being called at that moment. He clicked his tongue before rolling his eyes a bit in annoyance. It would seem that he was going to be called away.   
  
“Fine. I’ll be there soon.”   
  
Arulius pressed the end call before he grumbled. He glanced at Marcus, who raised an eyebrow at him, before he moved to rub the bridge of his nose. Marcus sighed as he waved his brother off.    
  
“I’m going to stay here. I’ll have Eclipse or Dr. Hatter drive me back to the hotel. How’s Morgan anyway?”   
  
“Sleeping off his sea sickness,” answered Arulius. “When Eclipse is done, please tell her to meet me at headquarters.”   
  
Marcus nodded. “Okay, Ru. Be careful.”   
  
“Always, little brother,” he said before heading out of the room.

Marcus watched his brother leave before he turned to stare at the operating room once again. He stared at Eclipse as she moved to help stitch up Cassie. He rubbed his arm as a frown appeared on his face. Marcus had a bad feeling, and he didn’t like when he had bad feelings. He laughed a bit as Eclipse looked up before waving at him. He knew she was grinning behind that surgical mask. He waved back at her as he smiled softly at the woman. He moved to sit on a sit as he watched them work. His frown reappeared. He had a terrible feeling.   
  
\--------

“ _ Arulius _ ,” hissed Sena as he rolled after the director. “How do you lose a  _ dinosaur _ ?”   
  
“I’m about to find out,” the director replied as he walked toward the control room. “I’m not sure how a dinosaur disappeared from an unopened enclosure. It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”   
  
“It’s more than a bit  _ strange _ ,” the wheelbound scientist hissed. “Director, we have to make sure the dinosaur isn’t hiding in the enclosure. It couldn’t have gotten out. We don’t need …”   
  
“Triassic Adventure will  _ not  _ happen again,” Arulius snapped as he gave a sharp glare toward Sena. “I’ve vowed to never let that chaos happen again.”   
  
“You shouldn’t make a vow you can’t keep,” Sena growled as he paused in his stride next to Arulius. “You’re going to find that out the hard way. I’ll revel in it.”   
  
“Your spite never gets old, Dr. Nightingale,” grumbled Arulius. “Now, if you’ll excuse me …” He swiped his badge for the main control room door to open. “I have a dinosaur to find.”

The director missed the middle finger Sena had given him before the scientist rolled off toward the lab. Sena couldn’t believe that they weren’t panicking over missing a dinosaur. He chewed on his lip. He didn’t even know which dinosaur they had lost. He stopped to pull out his tablet. He swiped through the notes and files before growling. He had been locked out of a few of them. He was Fenrir Nightingale’s son. They shouldn’t lock him out of important files that dealt with the damn dinosaurs. He threw his tablet in his anger. It clattered against the floor. He took a deep breath in before releasing it. It was meant to keep his anger in check, but deep breathing only seemed to make him angrier.   
  
“Sena, dear. Getting overworked is not going to help you.”   
  
Sena watched as his husband picked up the thrown tablet. Craft looked it over before moving to hand it back to their significant other. Sena watched as his gloved hands held the tablet out to him. The scientist growled at it before taking it from Craft. They ran a hand through their hair before smiling at Sena.   
  
“Maybe we could talk to Mr. Law at a later time,” suggested Craft. “I mean they even left me in the dark about their newest dinosaur. I’m their go to dinosaur nerd.”   
  
“I’m not going to wait for the director to do anything for me,” snarled Sena as he gripped his tablet in his hands. He watched his knuckles turn white from gripping the tiny machine tight. “I’ve waited. I’ve been patient. Now, they’re going to realize they should have let me in on their little secret.”   
  
A wide grin appeared on Craft’s face as they realized what their husband was about to do to gain the information he desired.   
  
“I want to be there when you hack into the system,” he sang. “But, I also kind of want to see their faces when you do hack into their system so easy.”   
  
Sena stared at his husband. He made a noise before snorting. “You just enjoy chaos, don’t you?”   
  
“Not all chaos,” laughed Craft. “I despised the chaos Triassic Adventure brought. I don’t even want to talk about the impromptu trip to that godforsaken  _ island _ .”   
  
Sena shivered as he remembered Craft’s trip to Site B. He had feared his husband hadn’t survived that encounter, but Craft was standing in front of him. He moved to grab Craft’s gloved hand before putting it to his cheek as a way to ground himself. Sometimes, even after all those years, he had to make sure Craft wasn’t a figment of his imagination. Craft sighed before they smiled softly at Sena.   
  
“I’m still here, dear,” they said. “I’m not going anywhere.”   
  
“I know,” muttered Sena. “I just …”   
  
“We have terrible memories of these islands, Dr. Nightingale,” chuckled Craft. “And, yet, we’re still here.”   
  
“I want to find my father’s notes,” said Sena. “I will not rest until I have all his research in my hands. They do not have the right to use his research for  _ this _ .”   
  
“I know,” Craft said. “I’m here to support you in this endeavor, my dear Sena. Now, we should go find out about that dinosaur they lost.”   
  
“Right,” Sena agreed as he let go of Craft’s hand. “Thank you, Love.”   
  
“Forever and always,” they said before going to kiss their husband’s cheek. “To our room!”   
  
Sena laughed as he watched Craft walk toward the entrance of the building. He started after them soon enough as his thoughts began to swim away from him. He needed to find out what the higher ups were hiding from him. He needed to make sure they didn’t get away with whatever they were doing. Sena sighed. They had already gotten away with something. He knew they created some kind of new dinosaur, but it was the only information he was able to get out of Director Arulius Law before the man stopped talking about it with him. He frowned. They even let Hekabe in the dark, and she was their head veterinarian.   
  
“Sena!”   
  
Sena snapped out of his thoughts as he glanced at Craft. They were holding the door open to him. Their room was near the boardwalk in a hotel. It was a penthouse. He didn’t prefer it, but they lived off the island so a penthouse was reserved for them whenever they had to stay on the island.   
  
“Hurry up, dear!” trilled Craft. “I will not keep this door open forever for you.”   
  
“I’m coming!” laughed Sena as he rolled through the door. 

\--------

Arulius’ eye twitched as he watched the red lights flash in warning. He watched as the controllers tried to find and track the dinosaur. His eye twitched some more. No amount of red bull was going to make this any better for him. He slammed his hands against the panel nearest to him causing the others to jump. They paused in their processes before turning to stare at him. He gave a deep sigh before straightening himself to be of proper height.   
  
“Can somebody tell me how the  _ fuck _ we lose a dinosaur as big as the fucking  _ t-rex _ ?!” he exclaimed.   
  
The controllers stared at the director with wide eyes. They had never seen him lose his composure in any events. They had never heard him swear at any point of their time with him. Arulius ran a hand through his hair as he heard the sound of silence his coworkers had given him. He had gone from having a meltdown with his brother falling into the raptor paddock, to having a moment with his not girlfriend then he had been pulled here to find a dinosaur that had seemingly disappeared into thin air. He took a deep breath through his nose. He pinched the bridge of it before sighing.   
  
“This is the biggest blunder to date, you guys,” he told them. “How do you lose this dinosaur?”   
  
“We’re not sure where it went,” one of the controllers replied to him. “One minute it was in its enclosure then the next minute none of the cameras could pick it up.”   
  
“Locator beacon?”   
  
“Not functioning.”   
  
“You’re all useless,” he deadpanned. “When did that stop functioning?”   
  
“Just a few minutes before the asset disappeared,” another employee confirmed. “The beacon was in the enclosure before it went offline.”   
  
“Oh goodie,” replied Arulius with a bit of sarcasm in his tone. “Any other good news I should know?”   
  
“We have scratches on the walls of the enclosure.”   
  
“I need a vacation,” muttered Arulius as he covered his face with his hands. “Get Vanessa on the line. I need to let her know that her precious asset has seemingly disappeared.”   
  
“CEO Vanessa already knows about the disappearance of the asset,” an employee told him. “She had requested for …”   
  
Arulius jumped as he heard his phone ring. He removed it from his pocket before staring at the name that had appeared on it. Eclipse. He answered it, holding up a finger to the employee that was talking to him.   
  
“Eclipse?”   
  
“Vanessa called,” she huffed. “I’m going to look at an enclosure. Something about a dinosaur. She was being really cryptic.”   
  
Arulius gripped the cell phone tight as he heard Eclipse. Vanessa was sending her to the dinosaur’s paddock. She was going to send Eclipse  _ into  _ the paddock. The cell phone almost slipped from his grasp.   
  
“Ru?”   
  
He snapped out of his thoughts before going to speak, “Be careful. We’re not sure what you’ll find in that paddock.”   
  
“I’ve handled dinosaurs plenty,” huffed Eclipse. “I know what to look out for when entering an enclosure.”   
  
“You don’t know this dinosaur,” he muttered.   
  
“Pardon?”   
  
“Just be careful, Eclipse,” he repeated. “Call me as soon as you’re out of the paddock.”   
  
Eclipse laughed, “I can do that.”   
  
Arulius heard the distinct dial tone as Eclipse hung up on him. He bit his lip. Vanessa would send Eclipse into the paddock with the creature. Vanessa sent her into the paddock without telling her anything. He slammed his fist on the panel causing those around him to jump. He growled before going to type on the panels as well. He needed to figure out what happened to that dinosaur before Eclipse waltzed into the paddock.   
  
“Her brother-in-law is really going to hate me,” he laughed with a bit of a dry tone. “Get the security camera footage up on the screen! We need to find this dinosaur!”   
  
It didn’t take long before all the live camera footage was on the screen. Arulius pressed the button to switch between them before he growled. The paddock was quiet. Not even the plants were moving. Arulius growled causing a few of his co-workers to scoot away from him. He gave them a glare before going back to the footage. He made a noise as he noticed Eclipse. She had gotten to the enclosure a lot faster than he had anticipated. The young man made a noise as he scrambled after his phone. The director had a hard time keeping it in his hands as he fumbled the phone a few times. He had to get her to stop from entering the paddock until he found the man-made dinosaur. Once he was able to grip the phone, he slammed on the speed dial button to call the raptor trainer.   
  
“Mr. Law?”   
  
“ _ Eclipse _ ,” he said. “Do not go into that paddock. It’s not a good …”   
  
“I’ll be fine, Arulius,” Eclipse said with a bit of a sigh evident in her voice. “Vanessa said it’s a run of the mill dinosaur. I can handle them.”   
  
“Run of the mill dinosaurs don’t just  _ disappear  _ without their paddock gates never opening!” he exclaimed. “Eclipse, please …”   
  
“I’ll be fine, Arulius.”   
  
Arulius stared at his phone after she had hung up on him. He gripped the phone tight before moving to lean over on the panel in front of him. He couldn’t do this anymore. He placed his phone in his pocket before rubbing his nose. At that moment, it showed how stressed Director Arulius Law always was while trying to keep Triassic Planet running smooth and without incident. He moved to straighten himself before going to look through the footage once again. He had to find the dinosaur. It was for Eclipse’s sake he needed to find it.   
  
“Damn it,” he hissed underneath his breath.   
  
\-------

Eclipse stared at the paddock from the view center before she turned to Vanessa. CEO Vanessa Winters was intimidating. She couldn’t believe Arulius dated her at one point.The raptor trainer stared at her before looking at the enclosure. She tilted her head before a snarl appeared on her face.   
  
“You cannot tell me that you’ve been letting this dinosaur live like this,” she hissed. “This enclosure is barely big enough for one  _ velociraptor _ . How big is this dinosaur?”   
  
“The size of the t-rex,” the woman spoke. “She’s still growing.”   
  
“You cannot be serious?” growled Eclipse. “Why can’t you find her in this small space then? How does she hunt?”   
  
“She’s fed,” the CEO replied. “She does not hunt.”   
  
“MISS WINTERS!”   
  
“Do not take that tone with me,” Vanessa snapped. “I am the CEO of this company. I get to make the decisions.  _ You  _ do not.”   
  
“Let’s just find your dinosaur,” huffed Eclipse. “Connor. Come.”   
  
She hated the fact that Vanessa also brought the head of security, but she figured she could use him. If he had gotten eaten, it wasn’t no skin off her bones. She glared at the man daring him to try anything with her. He shrugged before hitting the button to unlock the human sized door into the paddock.   
  
“You were thinking it’s okay if it would eat me, weren’t you?” grumbled Connor.   
  
“Ladies first,” Eclipse said as she shoved him into the paddock.   
  
The door closed behind them as she moved to look around the enclosure. It had a lot of plant life, and she sighed. The carnivore wouldn’t want a lot of plant life. She motioned for Connor to follow her as she moved to walk through the vegetation, eyes watching, as she cautiously moved to find the dinosaur. She frowned a bit. A t-rex sized dinosaur wouldn’t disappear. She pulled out her walkie.    
  
“Vanessa, what dinosaur are we dealing with? I know it’s Trixie sized, and I know it is a carnivore … that’s it.”   
  
“Oh,” Vanessa hummed. “Didn’t I tell you? She’s brand new.”   
  
Eclipse’s eyes widened as she remembered her conversation with her brother. He had mentioned they created a new dinosaur. She cursed as she turned to her co-worker. They were in trouble. She didn’t know how this dinosaur worked. The young woman was cursing herself for not listening to Arulius’ warning. He knew it was the newest asset that had disappeared. The woman turned before stopping as she stared at the wall of the enclosure. Scratches upon scratches of claw marks were in the concrete.   
  
“Oh. She was trying to figure out how to get out,” she muttered.   
  
“Pardon?” asked Connor.   
  
“She was trying to figure out how to get out. She’s smart, Connor.”   
  
Eclipse paled as she realized the exact trouble they were in at the moment. She pushed the head of security back toward the door they had appeared from as she panicked. They were in an enclosure of a giant dinosaur she didn’t know anything about, and nobody knew where it was at the moment. She didn’t even know if it had gotten out at all. She stared at the claw marks. She tilted her head.   
  
“Did she climb out?”   
  
The woman paused in her haste to escape to inspect the depthness of the claw marks. She would be able to tell how far the dinosaur had gotten her claws into the concrete. If they were deep, she could have climbed over the wall. The woman went to touch the marks before she jumped. Her phone had started to ring. She stared at Arulius’ name before she moved to answer it. She had no idea why he was calling her.   
  
“Get out of the enclosure!”   
  
“Ru?”   
  
“Eclipse. Out! She’s still there. She’s … heat signature … thermal …”   
  
The woman winced as she realized the signal with Arulius had dropped. Though, she had caught important words. The dinosaur was still in the paddock. Heat signature. Thermal. Her eyes widened as she dropped her phone. She turned to Connor before speaking slow yet strong.   
  
“Run. Now!”


End file.
